In the 1990s a figure calling himself 'King Arthur' Pendragon was a familiar sight on the road protest camps in Britain and with fellow druids at Stonehenge protests. Nick Ryan meets the man who calls himself the 'Once and Future King' and who says he has been 'reborn'.

If you would be a knight, and follow a king,
then follow me (Arthur Rex; Latterday Book of Arthurian Bards).

A terraced house on a large estate, south east England, February: Green, spreading ink encircles the powerful forearm. Coarse black hairs poke through the tightly patterned lace of tattoos, a sleeve of foreign lands, former girlfriends, Mum, Dad and Hells Angels.

Outside, a cold, pregnant sky, full with snow, presses against the dark,
curtained window. Within, tight smoke curls around the dying embers of
a cigarette, glowing fitfully in the full, bearded face of the Once and
Future King, Arthur Pendragon, reborn. The atmosphere of the small, modern
terrace is at once tribal and mundane. Attention focuses on the former
witch, wizard, mercenary and druid now sitting in front of the TV. The
glare of a single, harsh kitchen light is reflected in his deep-set black
eyes making them seem - for a moment - quite frightening. A rottweiler
pads the leaf-patterned carpet around him. A crop-haired biker, a 'Shield
Knight', the closest of Arthur's followers and oblivious to the stale
smells stalking the house, sprawls in an armchair and studies ways of
claiming from the 'Social'.

It is a communal house. Lucan, the young Shield Knight and, like Arthur,
a former bike gang member, sleeps in a child's bed under the stairs. His
left hand has developed arthritis, he says, "from too much punching".
Above, Arthur, and his girlfriend and daughter, have rooms. There is a
secret priest-hole, too, built by Arthur, where Excalibur (a former film
prop found in an antique store) lies, together with dozens of legend and
spell books, membership records and other paraphernalia sent by fans from
across the world.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" asks the reborn king, in a friendly,
southern drawl. He scratches at his left arm. It has been left curiously
twisted and shortened by a parachuting accident. That was long ago, in
his days as a soldier for Her Majesty's armed forces, during his "previous"
life. Now he is known by his other names; Arthur Uther Pendragon, King
Arthur, Titular Head of the Loyal Arthurian Warband, Member of the Council
of British Druid Orders, Honoured Pendragon of the Glastonbury Order of
Druids and Official Swordbearer to the Secular Order of Druids. And, as
he states continually, he fights for Truth, Honour and Justice.

"You see, in life, you don't need a reason to live because you're gonna
live anyway. What you really need is something worth dying for, if you
like. That's the main thing. I happen to believe that's truth, honour
and justice - we're warriors and that's what we fight for - though we
tend to fight on a magical level." He punctuates his sentences with a
high pitched laugh, shuffling constantly, nervously with a pack of cards.

"I'm also sworn on a sacred quest to fight corruption in high places,
and to protect the ancient faiths of Wicca and Druidry. Part of that is
to fight corruption, whatever the cost," he says, his voice bouncing from
the bare kitchen walls: "And to reunite the Table Round and the Celts.
That's my sacred quest."

This quest has brought Arthur into the media limelight - and into battle
with the very essence of conservative, insular society. Arthur and his
'Warband' - 150 Shield, Quest and Brother Knights - have fought on behalf
of the homeless, religiously oppressed and those who have lost, or are
in danger of losing, their civil rights.

Arthur's major clash, until recently, has been with English Heritage
over the closure of Stonehenge to worshipping druids (of which he is one).
He was arrested in 1991 and 1992, together with several followers, whilst
inside the four mile 'exclusion zone' surrounding the stones. Arthur condemns
this as religious persecution and sent several of his knights to stage
a sit-in in Winchester Cathedral last year as a protest. He has also successfully
prosecuted the Chief Constable of Wiltshire Constabulary for wrongful
arrest and unlawful imprisonment, receiving several thousand pounds in
damages.

However, the reason for his current fame and media profile is his fight
with the British government in the European courts, over the legality
of the Criminal Justice Act. This Act made it illegal to trespass or to
demonstrate in any great numbers and has been deeply unpopular across
a wide spectrum of peoples. It even caused riots during its implementation.
Arthur has also fought alongside the 'New Age' Dongas tribe against developers
at the infamous Twyford Down dispute and has stood in the county and local
elections. He also plans to stand as a candidate in the next parliamentary
elections and wants to write a political column highlighting civil and
environmental issues. In a sense, he is, together with his various knights,
a 'rent-a-crusader', who joins others in their battle against the (perceived)
inequities of the federal system. Their frequent arrests do not annoy
them - they believe with righteous indignation that they are "political
prisoners".

"His is a world in which freedom of mobility is cherished and there
is an awareness of nature which we, his 'civilised' brothers, have all but
lost,"

Peter Carmichael, 'Nomads' "These laws are all about control,"
says Arthur, pacing the kitchen in his socks and smoothing his long, black
hair behind an iron circlet. "Nobody in their free-thinking mind thinks
that control laws are a good idea."

He looks me straight in the eye: "Soon they'll [the government] say
'What we'll do is use the [Criminal Justice] Act to stop the Convoy -
medieval brigands going to Stonehenge and having their festival - and
while we're at it we'll stop the druids from worshipping there, and while
we're at it we'll stop the bloody ravers having a party and having fun
doing harm to nobody, and while we're at it we'll stop people squatting,
oh, and while we're at that we'll stop these hunt saboteurs because they're
social deviants as well - and we'll effectively stop the rights of assembly'."
He pants, exhausted and weary for a second.

"You know, these are what I call control laws - there's no need for
them whatsoever. They are specifically down so the government and those
in charge can pigeon-hole people to join the system, and if you don't
join the system you'll be penalised for it."

Arthur hasn't joined 'The System'. He lives between three different
houses, or out on the road in a beat-up Honda, campaigning. He once spent
a winter living in a tree stump, picketing Stonehenge and surviving on
handouts. Other homeless knights and druids live with him at these addresses,
taking quests or fighting on behalf of 'worthwhile' causes. They frequently
come into conflict with the State.

As with many of those rejecting the 20th century lifestyle, Arthur has
refused to pay the local poll tax and fought his local council in court
over the matter. Though a former member of Mensa (the society for those
with a high IQ) and armed with a formidable knowledge of the law, he refuses
any full-time occupation other than being Arthur Pendragon. As a result,
he won't claim dole/ unemployment benefit: "I gave up all worldly goods
as part of my pledge. I don't pay rent and I don't claim benefit because
I don't want to sponge off the state." He is, he says, a king without
a kingdom - his legal aid forms are signed under "employer" as "The People
of Great Britain". He's now been without money for five years. "This is
what makes me happy. All I need is food and shelter. It is all my life
- seeking purpose."

Later we move through the estate, walking across damp playing fields
to collect mail from his sister's house - several production companies
want to film him - and then on, into town. Dirty, beaming kids greet us
as we pass. Lucan strides along, keeping pace with the thump of Arthur's
seven foot staff, his 'Holy Lance', upon the harsh concrete. I discover
that Lucan has been riding with bike gangs since he was 14 - what he calls
"a loose military background". He's highly intelligent, lucid and constantly
attacks 'The System'. We argue about anarchy and discuss Arthur's story.

Arthur's version of Life is that he was "reborn" in 1954; "renamed"
in 1986. As he puts it: "I was round a mate's squat and I got this plank
of wood about this big" (he gestures with his arms) "that was lying around,
picked it up, got a black marker pen and wrote King John in the middle...and
I wrote me army and national insurance number...Bacardi, Geronimo, Ace,
all me nicknames that I was known by up and down the country, 'coz I've
always travelled a lot. There was about 30 in total," he says with a little
laugh. "I wrote all these names down, including The Reverend, who I was
at one time - I was a psychic investigator for the Church and got an honorary
ecclesiastical degree - so, anyway, I write all these names down and being
one for a play on words I passed it to a friend and said: 'I'm bored/board',
whichever way you spell it. He looked at it and said: 'You're not King
John'. I said: 'I know - I'm not Bacardi either', which is what I was
known as in Liverpool: 'and I'm not Geronimo', which is what my old man
used to call me because I wore a headband: 'and I'm not Hairy Willie',
which is what my mum used to call me, not that my name was William anyway.
So anyway, he said: 'You're not King John, you're King Arthur, the Once
and Future King'. And I said: 'OK' and I smashed it (the plank), and I
broke it, there and then, which is a very symbolic thing to do...and it
all clicked then, it fell into place."

"New Age religion has the same effect on the mind as LSD," 'The
Daily Telegraph' (London)

Arthur has always believed in another calling - right from his early
childhood fantasies. "I get flashbacks to that era. I always have". His
experiences have taught him "nothing is to be gained from the 20th century.
The tools of the 20th century are no good." Running away from home at
the age of 15, when his father was a sergeant in the army, Arthur hung
out with bike gangs for the next four years. He spent another four and
a half years in the Royal Hampshire Regiment, serving in Europe and Hong
Kong. His parachuting accident ended any future with the forces, so he
left to spend the rest of his twenties "running with various outlawed
bike clubs". He settled down in the mid-Seventies.

"Then my wife and I woke up one morning and wondered what had happened
to us. The system had sucked us in. In the end she went off to manage
a riding stables and I got on my bike and headed for the horizon." Arthur
took the name King John, inspired by a nearby castle, leading a local
bike gang between 1984-86.

Living in Glastonbury shortly after his 'transformation', he received
a letter from a man who claimed to have been doubting his own sanity -
because, he said, he had been going round for years calling himself "Parsifal"
(of the Grail). He became Arthur's first knight - a black biker believing
himself to be a reincarnation of a Dark Age warrior. Then a letter arrived
from Cumbria saying that the writer was a "Sir Cei". Another letter shortly
came from a "Balin Le Savage" (Knight of the Two Swords) - both names
from Arthurian legend. Arthur placed advertisements in the Mensa magazine
and Back Street Heroes biker's mag for further recruits.

There are now over 150 members of the Arthurian Warband - 13 druids
(known as The Loyal Arthurian Warband, or LAW, for short), 100 knights,
seven mystics and 30 chieftains (leaders of bike gangs, etc). The oldest
is 94. These are further divided into Shield, Quest and Brother Knights.
Shield Knights are the closest to Arthur, believing themselves to be reincarnations
of the original knights of the Round Table. They insist that this is based
on "Dark Age truth", not Christianised medieval romance (though some of
the knights are Christian). Next are the Quest Knights, convinced they
are reincarnated from the Dark Age - but unsure as to their individual
identities. Arthur sets these knights a series of quests so that they
may better 'discover' their true names. Last are the Brother Knights -
individuals who believe in Arthur and the causes he fights for, but "whose
feet are firmly rooted in the 20th century."

"They happen to believe this is their first time," says Arthur. "That's
up to them. It's fine. This is their time - I'm only here to support them.
It's all part of the (Celtic) resurgence."

We drink later that afternoon in The Tumbledown Dick, a concrete box
of a pub dumped beside a busy bypass. Talking quietly andsmoking a SuperKing,
with the blare of Metallica in the background, Arthur reveals more of
his history. At the age of 14 he began practising 'wiccan' - moon magic;
the power of the witch. He was known as Wolfdog. From there, he says,
he graduated via his spells as an exorcist and wizard, to druidic (nature)
magic and worship of the Sun.

Wiping beer from his beard with a heavy, callused, tattooed hand, he
also reveals he has been 'inside' (imprisoned) several times. So has Lucan.
Arthur also fought in Biafra (Africa) - shown by a tattoo on his arm -
after leaving the regular army. He was a mercenary, paid in the local
currency. He admits trying to get out to Angola during the mid-Eighties,
as well - but was turned back at the airport. All the others who went
on his flight, he believes, died or were captured. During his time, like
many cult-style leaders, he has also fathered seven children (all from
different mothers). He doesn't want the kids to find him. They are a reminder
of his bike gang days. "I'd be a damn good dad," he argues, "but I wouldn't
be a part-time dad."

Arthur revels in being a true 'pagan' and it is certainly a superstitious
existence. For example, great reliance is placed upon the number three,
for "mystical" reasons. Witness the use of three word titles and phrases
such as King Arthur Pendragon; Arthur Uther Pendragon; Shield, Quest,
Brother Knight; Loyal Arthurian Warband; Truth, Honour, Justice.

Arthur claims to dream in Cornish, Welsh and Breton. In common with
many so-called evangelical Christians, he has spoken in tongues. And when
a Quest Knight has 'found' him or herself, he/she goes through a process
(coined from the film Highlander) that Arthur calls "The Quickening".
He is vague about it - it sounds extremely disquieting. There is a pervading
sense of unreality as the pub chatter and strains from 'Why Do Fools Fall
In Love' stream past.

We later visit some followers, a tired-looking mother shouting at her
kids, and a lanky, greasy-haired youth mending a clapped-out van outside
a filthy terraced squat. Inside, mongrel dogs chase each other across
the fag-stained carpet. A flea lands on my arm. Arthur receives what almost
seems to be a ritualistic welcome; shown to a rickety chair beneath a
Seventies heavy metal poster, and fed with copious amounts of beans. We
drink tea from tannin-stained cups as the talk turns to bail, police and
witchcraft. Arthur confides to me that he used to date the mother and
that he lost her to the nameless youth outside during a betting game.
The 'Welfare' are expected soon. It seems a sad and lonely place. Is this
the sort of society Arthur wishes to forge in the future - or is he preying
on the weak-willed and easily led, like so many other cult leaders?

Whatever, it is certainly a tribal society; close-knit, nomadic, looking
for an alternative ethos, or way of life. Many of its members simply want
to be left alone. They seem very much centred around the person of Arthur,
which he himself admits may not be the best thing. There is the possibility
of a Hitler-syndrome developing, and he is worried about being alone in
this position.

However, when the 'original' Arthur perished so did his dreams. Already,
Shield Knights have been known to fight each other until Arthur has had
to intervene. Many of his theories are interesting, valid and well-thought
out, but others are erratic or inconsistent. There seem to be few women
in leading roles - though I am assured that the warband has many female
members, including a Shield Knight, a Lady of the Lake and a number of
witches who are partners to knights.

Certainly, among his own and many of the druidic communities, even among
some members of the police, Arthur seems to have earned respect. He is
a man of the heart and a romantic, in the true sense of the word. He writes
poetry and short stories, publishing them in "The Latterday Book of Arthurian
Bards", carried in a belt pouch. He obviously loves his girlfriend Sheila,
a Scot and a witch (from whom he has now split) and she seems to support
him wholeheartedly: "Arthur is basically a good guy," she says.

Again, like many cult leaders, Arthur has a strong set of principles
and a moral code, harsh in its own way. He doesn't take drugs. He believes
in work camps for criminals, but not capital punishment. And he adamantly
wants "a" law, if not necessarily agreeing with the present one. "There's
certain things a king can't do," says Arthur. "For example, I don't break
the law," citing his dilemma at Stonehenge when others were jumping the
fence surrounding the stones.

He talks of being a diplomat for many of the "free-thinking peoples"
and of entering the political arena. His is a desire, he argues, to re-educate
people. An anti-European, he is opposed to Brussels and the power he believes
it wields (though curiously he is willing to use the European Court of
Human Rights to fight the British government). Nursing his beer, he cries:
"I'm talking in the politics of the people. People represent people, not
parties. I'm at the spearhead of a political revolution - watch this space
and see!"

We part in the damp mist of a February night, perhaps to meet again,
perhaps not. I last heard he was heading off to a Welsh mountain, reputed
to give inspirational dreams to those sleeping upon it. The clank of his
staff is muffled in the distance as the night air engulfs him.